Let's Go Blues

Both of their contracts expire, right? I'm sure we're not keeping them both; so what are the predictions?

1) Let Halak go as a UFA, re-sign Elliot as the number one, and bring up Allen as backup.

2) Let Elliot go, re-sign Halak to new contract, bring up Allen as backup (unlikely).

3) Trade either Halak or Elliot by this year's deadline in order to get something back.

4) Simply let them both go, and sign a completely new goaltender next offseason whilst bring up Allen as backup.

Which is most likely?

xbleed83bluex wrote:Both of their contracts expire, right? I'm sure we're not keeping them both; so what are the predictions?

1) Let Halak go as a UFA, re-sign Elliot as the number one, and bring up Allen as backup.

2) Let Elliot go, re-sign Halak to new contract, bring up Allen as backup (unlikely).

3) Trade either Halak or Elliot by this year's deadline in order to get something back.

4) Simply let them both go, and sign a completely new goaltender next offseason whilst bring up Allen as backup.

Which is most likely?

Elliott/Allen

Oaklandblue wrote:

xbleed83bluex wrote:Both of their contracts expire, right? I'm sure we're not keeping them both; so what are the predictions?

1) Let Halak go as a UFA, re-sign Elliot as the number one, and bring up Allen as backup.

2) Let Elliot go, re-sign Halak to new contract, bring up Allen as backup (unlikely).

3) Trade either Halak or Elliot by this year's deadline in order to get something back.

4) Simply let them both go, and sign a completely new goaltender next offseason whilst bring up Allen as backup.

Which is most likely?

Elliott/Allen

For when? This offseason, or for the playoffs?

Look at the topic title.

I think the most likely scenario is Elliott/Allen. I don't know if I agree with that. I'm still not sold on Elliott being able to carry a team without someone pushing him. But if the organization believes Allen is the goalie of the future, then Halak is the odd man out. Plus, he's the more expensive option and that can hamper his chances of staying.

I don't see Halak back next year because he's going to cost a lot more money, but I don't see a big gap in talent to justify it. If we weren't Cup contenders, I'd be tempted to trade Halak and let Elliott/Allen finish the season. That would get Allen some experience this year and let us have a better idea what we have going into free agency. But, we ARE Cup contenders. You can't trade one of your top 2 goalies without a really good contingency plan.

What happens if we trade Halak and Elliott gets hurt? Do any of us feel comfortable relying on Allen into the playoffs? Maybe he'll do OK, but that's a lot to ask of a rookie (is he still a rookie?). The one exception to this is if we trade for Ryan Miller and re-sign him for a couple years.

I don't really know what to make of next year. Like I said, I don't see Halak back. I guess I could see Elliott here, definitely before Halak. But, if you're Elliott, do you re-sign here knowing there is a good chance they give your starting job away before you hit FA again? I bet he only signs here if we pay him like a number 1 for 4 years. If he signs for 1 year and loses his job to Allen, it's going to be harder for him to get paid as a number one elsewhere. Right now his stock is relatively high, probably as high as it will ever be leaving the Blues. So, I bet he tries to get a number one job somewhere else. And, I think he will be successful. And, good for him if he is.

But, that leaves us in a precarious spot of having Allen and nobody to ease him along. I'd like a solid goalie to be our number one and for Allen to eventually take over the reins. Since I don't see Halak or Elliott back in that scenario, I'm not totally against trading for Miller and extending him through, say, 2015-16 or even maybe 2016-17. I'm not in love with that idea, but I think I prefer that to signing a backup to Allen for next year. And, I somehow think that's more practical than Halak/Allen or Elliott/Allen.

Short term, Elliott/Allen. Longer term Allen/Binnington. I'm not sure where the other goalies in the system (Lundstrom & Tremblay) fit into the plan. Probably trade chips. I'd suspect Ells will get a one year contract while Allen backs him up, and then the following season Allen takes over #1.

Of course Binn is a pretty solid prospect with a bright future so they might trade him and sign a vet backup to Allen. If they both end up being as good as advertised it may be an unhealthy situation to have them both on the roster.

Look, if we're considering trading for Miller, why not just go full-bore and trade for Tim Thomas? The Cats will take Halak in a second and maybe even give us a grinder or two to go with him.

Miller IS a short-term solution, so let's accept that for two reasons: 1) Money and 2) and this is one I have yet to hear from anyone, is how much money do we really have, after all is said and done, to be spent? We talk about money like it's a fluid thing, but Stillman isn't that loaded and we offloaded an AHL team to help support the run. So Miller IS a short-term solution. Saying that, if I'm getting a short-term solution, I want the BEST short-term solution. So why not Tim Thomas? He is a competitor seven days a week, he gives his all and he is reliable AND has a lot to prove and a stick on his shoulder.

And I have to admit I love the irony in such an acquisition, especially if we win the Cup - the most historic picture in the NHL is a Flying Bobby Orr in front of our goal. Wouldn't it be amazing if we won the Cup with a Cup-Winning former Killer-B at goal?

It's a rental anyway, so why not?

If you want a short term solution that's not Miller, offer the borderline playoff Devils Halak, Cole and Schmaltz for Brodeur and a conditional pick (Blues get a 2nd rounder if they don't win The Cup). They need defense, you're pining for a specifically Cup proven goalie who is also as short term a solution as it can get and they get a younger veteran to push Schneider.

glen a richter wrote:If you want a short term solution that's not Miller, offer the borderline playoff Devils Halak, Cole and Schmaltz for Brodeur and a conditional pick (Blues get a 2nd rounder if they don't win The Cup). They need defense, you're pining for a specifically Cup proven goalie who is also as short term a solution as it can get and they get a younger veteran to push Schneider.

The last Stanley Brodeur lifted was in 02-03. That's TEN years ago. Different time, very different team and a decade-younger Brodeur. That kind of acquisition would be great if it was 2-3 years after that, but the name of the game is winning the Cup now.

Tim Thomas, in the last five years (not counting the year he took off), has a much better percetage both regular and playoffs than Brodeur, plus he's two years younger and Tim Thomas has a GAA 10-15 points higher than Brodeur playing and yet he's on a team that's got him ranked 10th in losses.

Give me Tim Thomas.

I realize the concern is that we'd have to give up too much for Miller, but he's much more intriguing to me RIGHT NOW than Thomas or Brodeur would be. Miller is actually playing really good on an absolutely terrible Buffalo team. Put our Blues in front of him and that could be something special. Thomas or Brodeur would be interesting as well, but at this stage of their careers are they going to be able to catapult the Blues over that hump? I don't know. They have the resumes, but they're also a few years beyond their prime.

Personally, I'd hate to see Halak leave for nothing and yet I agree he's probably the odd man out. I say you try to do something with him. It would be really nice if him or Elliott would just take the reins as the undisputed #1 but they both seem like #1B's to me. That's nice because they're both fairly reliable, but it is bad because they seem to lack that killer instinct and consistency that leads to success come playoff time. Maybe this year would be different, but I just don't know.

I never really mentioned this in my earlier post, but I feel this is our best chance to win a Cup up to this point, but I'm still not sold on going and getting a rental. I personally want to stick with our tandem, even if that means letting one of them walk this offseason and getting nothing for them. The main reason is that I don't want to give up anything off of our roster to get them. We're so deep. I'd just be worried about rocking the boat. I don't feel that Thomas or Miller automatically makes us a Cup contender. We are one right now, as is. I'm just not sure they'll be able to elevate the team's game in the way we'd all hope.

That said, I was critical of Bouwmeester before he became a Blue and now I'm a big fan of his. So...all bet's are off.

ViPeRx007 wrote:I realize the concern is that we'd have to give up too much for Miller, but he's much more intriguing to me RIGHT NOW than Thomas or Brodeur would be. Miller is actually playing really good on an absolutely terrible Buffalo team. Put our Blues in front of him and that could be something special. Thomas or Brodeur would be interesting as well, but at this stage of their careers are they going to be able to catapult the Blues over that hump? I don't know. They have the resumes, but they're also a few years beyond their prime.

Personally, I'd hate to see Halak leave for nothing and yet I agree he's probably the odd man out. I say you try to do something with him. It would be really nice if him or Elliott would just take the reins as the undisputed #1 but they both seem like #1B's to me. That's nice because they're both fairly reliable, but it is bad because they seem to lack that killer instinct and consistency that leads to success come playoff time. Maybe this year would be different, but I just don't know.

Yeah, I agree. Take all 3 in their prime and he might be my 3rd choice (albeit a GREAT 3rd choice to have). But, they aren't in their primes. And, if we trade for somebody, I think it should be somebody that can be here past this year. I wouldn't mind being wrong on Elliott, but I doubt he's back. Without knowing the FA market, he sounds like a good option to pair with Allen. Of course, that could change depending on cost, both prospect-wise and dollar-wise. But, if it's an upgrade this year on a Cup run and it solves a goalie question for the next couple of years, I'm intrigued.